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Showing posts with label Amulet Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amulet Books. Show all posts

Monday, January 7, 2019

Pre-Order Campaign- STAIN by A.G. Howard

Hello! We are just ONE WEEK away from the release of Stain by A.G. Howard. I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this one. There is a pretty great pre-order deal going on so I wanted to spotlight it here for you. Check out this awesomeness!!!


About the Book:



A high-fantasy gothic fairytale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea.

Once upon a nightmare, her fairy tale begins…

After Lyra—a princess incapable of speech or sound—is cast out of her kingdom of daylight by her wicked aunt, a witch saves her life, steals her memories, and raises her in an enchanted forest … disguised as a boy known only as Stain. Meanwhile, in Lyra’s rival kingdom, the prince of thorns and night is dying, and the only way for him to break his curse is to wed the princess of daylight, for she is his true equal. As Lyra rediscovers her identity, an impostor princess prepares to steal her betrothed prince and her crown. To win back her kingdom, save the prince, and make peace with the land of the night, Lyra must be loud enough to be heard without a voice, and strong enough to pass a series of tests—ultimately proving she’s everything a traditional princess is not.




About the A.G.:


International and NYT best-selling author, Anita Grace Howard, lives in the Texas panhandle. She is most at home weaving the melancholy and macabre into settings and scenes, twisting the expected into the unexpected. She’s inspired by all things flawed, utilizing the complex loveliness of human conditions and raw emotions to give her characters life, then turning their world upside down so the reader’s blood will race.

Married and mother of two teens (as well as surrogate mom to two Guinea pigs and one Labrador retriever), Anita divides her days between spending time with her family and plodding along or plotting on her next book.


When she’s not writing, Anita enjoys rollerblading, biking, snow skiing, gardening, and family vacations that at any given time might include an impromptu side trip to an 18th century graveyard or a condemned schoolhouse for photo ops.


Pre-order Campaign:



Pre-order Stain and receive a limited-edition swag pack and the never-before-told backstory to Splintered’s Morpheus! All you have to do is pre-order A.G. Howard’s forthcoming book from your favorite retailer. Details and the form for submitting your pre-order can be found here. See what the author had to say about it here.

Follow A.G. & Pique!

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

STAIN BY A.G. HOWARD: MEET LYRA

Today, I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Amulet Books to give you a peek at one of the characters from A.G. Howard’s upcoming standalone YA fantasy, Stain.

Meet Lyra!

About STAIN:

After Lyra—a princess incapable of speech or sound—is cast out of her kingdom of daylight by her wicked aunt, a witch saves her life, steals her memories, and raises her in an enchanted forest . . . disguised as a boy known only as Stain.


Meanwhile, in Lyra’s rival kingdom, the prince of thorns and night is dying, and the only way for him to break his curse is to wed the princess of daylight—for she is his true equal.


As Lyra finds her way back to her identity, an imposter princess prepares to steal her betrothed prince and her crown. To win back her kingdom, save the prince, and make peace with the land of the night, Lyra must be loud enough to be heard without a voice, and strong enough to pass a series of tests—ultimately proving she’s everything a traditional princess is not.

Available January 15th!

Pre-order your copy now!

Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Blog Tour- ODD & TRUE by Cat Winters An Interview & Giveaway!


Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for ODD & TRUE by Cat Winters! I adore Cat and her books!!!

I have an interview with Cat to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!


Haven't heard of ODD & TRUE? Check it out!



Title: ODD & TRUE
Author: Cat Winters
Pub. Date: September 12, 2017
Publisher:  Amulet Books
Pages: 368
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: AmazonB&NiBooksTBDGoodreads
Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.

In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all. 
Now on to the interview!

Hey Cat!! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! ODD & TRUE was awesome and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

Thanks so much for hosting me, Jaime!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about ODD & TRUE and the characters?

ODD & TRUE is the story of two sisters, Odette and Trudchen Grey, known as Od and Tru. Older sister Od has always told younger sister Tru fairytales and legends to hide the pain of their family’s history and to bolster Tru’s spirits after a debilitating battle with polio. Now that Tru is older, she no longer believes in magic and wants to learn the truth about their past. Od reemerges after a mysterious two-year absence and claims they’re destined to embark on a hunt for monsters across America. Tru finds herself doing whatever it takes to uncover Od’s secrets, even if it means following her sister on her strange and fantastical quest to slay a mythical beast.  

The novel was inspired by a real-life monster hunt in 1909 America.

So what’s up next for you? What are you working on?

I’m hard at work on a new YA novel, but I can’t yet say what it’s about. I’ll drop a little hint, though: this one involves the teenage years of a real-life historical figure.

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

The bond that Od and Tru share was inspired by my relationship with my own sister. Their childhood was far more tragic than what my sister and I experienced, but some of our traits definitely made their way into these fictional girls.  

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

I loved writing from the alternating viewpoints of my two leads, who are near and dear to my heart, but Uncle Magnus also became a favorite. His character evolved into something far more complex than what I originally envisioned for him.

My least favorite? Hmm, that’s a hard one to say, because I enjoyed writing them all. I suppose Aunt Viktoria was probably the most difficult to write because I wanted to make sure she wasn’t a carbon copy of Aunt Eva from In the Shadow of Blackbirds.

(A special bonus for those of you following this blog tour: I realized Od and Tru’s mother and her siblings grew up during the same time and in the same region as Mary Shelley Black’s mother in In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Look for a mention of Mary Shelley’s mom, Amelia, in Chapter Two.)

What is your favorite passage/scene in ODD & TRUE?

Od’s first POV chapter, when we see the day of Tru’s birth and the way Od views the world.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

This book involved nonstop research. I started with 1909 newspaper articles that detailed the sightings of a creature called the Leeds Devil (more popularly known today as the Jersey Devil), and I amassed a collection of books with topics ranging from American monster legends to domestic service in the early 1900s. Newspaper articles about numerous other topics from the era, as well as historical medical journal articles, also helped immensely. My sister happens to know a woman who’s descended from the Leeds family behind the Jersey Devil legend, so I got a chance to speak with her, and a school located in the heart of Jersey Devil country invited me to speak when I was in the middle of writing the novel, which proved to be extremely helpful.

Who is your ultimate book boyfriend?

Severus Snape, the ultimate romantic, loyal Goth boy.

What inspired you to write YA?

Originally, I tried to break into publishing by writing adult fiction, but I could never manage to sell a book to a publisher, although I managed to sign with my agent. When I told her my ideas for In the Shadow of Blackbirds, she said it sounded like a YA novel and encouraged me to go in that direction. It happened to be my very first book to sell, so I’m thankful I followed her advice!

Lightening Round Questions

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I’m reading a few books I can’t name because they’re part of my research for the secret project, but when I have a moment to steal, I’m reading AUMA’S LONG RUN, an excellent new MG novel by debut author Eucabeth Odhiambo. Please put it on your radar if you haven’t already.

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Ravenclaw

Twitter or Facebook?

I tend to hang out more on Twitter.

Favorite Superhero?

Wonder Woman

Favorite TV show?

Currently, People of Earth

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet

Any Phobias?

Ophidiophobia (the fear of snakes!)

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

I’m still loving Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still,” even though it’s played all the time.

2017 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

The movie adaptation of Brian Selznick’s WONDERSTRUCK


Thanks so much Cat for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read ODD & TRUE!


About Cat:

Cat Winters’s critically acclaimed debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, was named a 2014 Morris Award Finalist, a 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, a 2013 Bram Stoker Award Nominee, and a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013. Her upcoming novels include The Cure for Dreaming (Amulet Books/Oct. 2014) and The Uninvited (William Morrow/2015), and she’s a contributor to the 2015 YA horror anthology Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Visit her online at www.catwinters.com.
Photo by Tara Kelly

Find Cat Online:



Giveaway Details:

(3) winners will receive a finished copy of ODD & TRUE, US & Canada.


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Tour Schedule:
Week One:
9/4/2017- Adventures of a Book JunkieInterview
9/5/2017- Here's to Happy EndingsReview
9/6/2017- YA and WineGuest Post
9/7/2017- Ex LibrisReview
9/8/2017- Novel NoviceGuest Post


Week Two:
9/11/2017- Take Me Away To A Great ReadReview
9/12/2017-Two Chicks on BooksInterview 
9/13/2017- Falling For YAReview
9/14/2017- Stories & SweetiesGuest Post
9/15/2017- Lisa Loves LiteratureReview

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

RELEASE WEEK BLITZ- THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO by F.C. Yee With an Excerpt & Giveaway



I am so excited that THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO by F.C. Yee is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author F.C. Yee, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for 5 finished copies of the book and a bookmark courtesy of Pique and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.



About The Book:

Title: THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO
Author: F.C. Yee
Pub. Date: August 8, 2017
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 336
Formats: Hardcover, eBook

The struggle to get into a top-tier college consumes sixteen-year-old Genie Lo's every waking thought. But when her sleepy Bay Area town comes under siege from hell-spawn straight out of Chinese folklore, her priorities are suddenly and forcefully rearranged.

Her only guide to the demonic chaos breaking out around her is Quentin Sun, a beguiling, maddening new transfer student from overseas. Quentin assures Genie she is strong enough to fight these monsters, for she unknowingly harbors an inner power that can level the very gates of Heaven.

Genie will have to dig deep within herself to summon the otherworldly strength that Quentin keeps talking about. But as she does, she finds the secret of her true nature is entwined with his, in a way she could never have imagined…

Excerpt:
“GREETINGS,” HE SAID, HIS ACCENT THICK BUT HIS VOICE LOUD and clear. “I have arrived.”

Now, I’d done my best to describe this guy to the police. They pressed me hard for details, as apparently this wasn’t the first group mugging in recent weeks.

But I’d let Officers Davis and Rodriguez down. Nice eyes and a winning smile weren’t much to go by. I was too frazzled to notice anything before, which meant this was my first decent look at the boy without the influence of adrenaline.

So a couple of things.

One: He was short. Like, really short for a guy. I felt bad that my brain went there first, but he wasn’t even as tall as Mrs. Nanda.

Two: He was totally okay, physically. I didn’t see how anyone could be up and about after that beating, but here he was, unbruised and unblemished. I felt relieved and disturbed at the same time to see there wasn’t a scratch on him.

And his mint condition just made Point Three even more obvious.

He was . . . yeesh.

Nothing good could come of our new classmate being that handsome. It was destructive. Twisted. Weaponized. He had the cheekbones and sharp jawline of a pop star, but his thick eyebrows and wild, unkempt hair lent him an air of natural ruggedness that some pampered singer could never achieve in a million years of makeup.

“Argh, my ovaries,” Yunie mumbled. She wasn’t alone, judging by the soft intakes of breath coming from around the room.

“Arrived from where?” said Mrs. Nanda.

Quentin looked at her in amusement. “China?”

“Yes, but where in, though?” said Mrs. Nanda, trying her best to convey that she was sensitive to the regional differences. Fujianese, Taishanese, Beijingren—she’d taught them all.

He just shrugged. “The stones,” he said.

“You mean the mountains, sweetie?” said Rachel Li, batting her eyelashes at him from the front row.

“No! I don’t misspeak.”

The class giggled at his English. But none of it was incorrect, technically speaking.

“Tell us a little about yourself,” Mrs. Nanda said.

Quentin puffed out his chest. The white button-down shirt and black pants of our school’s uniform for boys made most of them look like limo drivers. But on him, the cheap stitching just made it clearer that he was extremely well-muscled underneath.

“I am the greatest of my kind,” he said. “In this world I have no equal. I am known to thousands in faraway lands, and everyone I meet can’t help but declare me king!”

There was a moment of silence and sputtering before guffaws broke out.

“Well . . . um . . . we are all high achievers here at SF Prep,” said

Mrs. Nanda as politely as she could. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in?”

Quentin surveyed the cramped beige classroom with a cool squint. To him, the other twenty-two laughing students were merely peons on whom his important message had been lost.

“Enough wasting of time,” he snapped. “I came to these petty halls only to reclaim what is mine.”

Before anyone could stop him, he hopped onto Rachel’s desk and stepped over her to the next one, like she wasn’t even there.

“Hey! Quentin!” Mrs. Nanda said, frantically waving her hands. “Get down now!”

The new student ignored her, stalking down the column of desks. Toward mine.

Everyone in his way leaned to the side to avoid getting kicked. They were all too flabbergasted to do anything but serve as his counterweights.

He stopped on my desk and crouched down, looking me in the eye. His gaze pinned me to my seat.
I couldn’t turn away. He was so close our noses were almost touching. He smelled like wine and peaches.

“You!” he said.

“What?” I squeaked.

Quentin gave me a grin that was utterly feral. He tilted his head as if to whisper, but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You belong to me”

About F.C:


F. C. Yee grew up in New Jersey and went to school in New England, but has called the San Francisco Bay Area home ever since he beat a friend at a board game and shouted “That’s how we do it in NorCal, baby!” Outside of writing, he practices capoeira, a Brazilian form of martial arts, and has a day job mostly involving spreadsheets.

                       



Giveaway Details:

5 winners will receive Genie Lo prize packs—complete with a finished copy of the book and a special Genie Lo horoscope (that doubles as a bookmark!), US Only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Release Day Blitz- ROSEBLOOD by A.G. Howard


I am so excited that ROSEBLOOD by A.G. Howard releases today and that I get to share the news!
If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author A.G. Howard, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a signed ROSEBLOOD poster and a mask courtesy of A.G. and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.



About The Book:

Title: ROSEBLOOD
Author: A.G. Howard
Pub. Date: January 10, 2016
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 432
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook

In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera.

At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn—an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he’s ever known.







About A.G. Howard

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

When she's not writing, A.G.'s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a signed ROSEBLOOD poster and a Mask. US Only.

Ends on January 17th at Midnight EST!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Blog Tour- THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY by Cat Winters Book Playlist and A Giveaway!


I am so excited to be hosting a spot on blog tour for THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY by Cat Winters! I adore Cat and her books! I have Cat's book playlist to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway for a finished copy of the book! 


Haven't heard of THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY? Check it out!

Title: THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY
Author: Cat Winters
Pub. Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Amulet Books
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.
Now on to the playlist!

The Steep and Thorny Way Playlist

1. “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” traditional American folk song, also known as “In the Pines” and “Black Girl, recorded by various artists since 1926

This was my number one go-to song whenever I wanted to get into the right mindset for working on The Steep and Thorny Way. I often listened to the 1940s Lead Belly recording of it, which is a haunting, bluesy rendition that put me straightaway into the novel’s setting: the backwoods of Oregon in 1923, where danger and heartbreak lurk around dark corners. I also listened to Nirvana’s 1993 MTV Unplugged performance of the song, in which Kurt Cobain screams the final verse with an extraordinary, primal intensity. Those passionate cries inspired the creation of my protagonist, Hanalee’s, pain and terror when dealing with the aftermath of her father’s murder. At one point in the book, Hanalee even spends a night “in the pines, in the pines,” as does the girl in the song. 

2. “Wade in the Water,” American spiritual associated with the Underground Railroad, recorded by various artists since 1923

Hanalee is the daughter of a black man from Georgia and a white woman from Oregon. When her father’s death leaves her as the only person of color in her rural community of Elston, Oregon, she finds solace in remembrances of her dad sharing his Southern heritage with her. She particularly takes comfort in a memory of her father singing “Wade in the Water” while she fished by his side in one of the local creeks. The Blind Boys of Alabama‘s stirring recording of the spiritual is the version I most often listened to when writing the book—and the legendary gospel group itself is an inspiring story straight out of the South.

3. “Son of a Preacher Man,” Dusty Springfield

The Steep and Thorny Way is loosely based upon Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet originally believes that a snake killed his father but soon learns that his stepfather murdered him. In The Steep and Thorny Way, Hanalee initially believes that Joe Adder, the teenage son of a local preacher, killed her father while driving drunk. She later suspects that her stepfather was the real killer.

Whenever I wrote about Hanalee referring to Joe as that “preacher’s boy,” Dusty Springfield’s 1968 “Son of a Preacher Man” invariably popped into my head, so I started listening to the song while working on the novel. Aretha Franklin belted out her own gospel-inspired rendition in 1970, and her sister, Erma Franklin, covered it (fabulously) a year earlier, in 1969.

4. “Modern Jesus,” Portugal. The Man

The church in Elston is the center of the town’s social life, but both Hanalee and Joe find themselves at odds with the congregation, despite their religious upbringings. Moreover the Ku Klux Klan—a powerful force in Oregon in the early 1920s—has taken over other local churches and turned houses of worship into establishments of fear. Whenever the 2013 rock song “Modern Jesus” came on the radio as I was writing the book, I thought of Hanalee and Joe and how they’re force to learn how to have faith in themselves when their old ways of life abandon them. 

5. “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” The Beatles

This one’s for a hidden relationship in the novel. That’s all I’ll say about that.

6. “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” Yvonne Elliman, Jesus Christ Superstar

I’m a lifelong fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock operas, and I remember watching the movie adaptation of his 1970 hit, Jesus Christ Superstar, on TV from a very young age. This particular song from the production makes me think of Hanalee’s confusion over how she’s supposed to feel about Joe. The novel opens with her heading into the woods to kill him after he’s been let out of prison early for good behavior, and, gradually, the two of them grow to depend on each other for safety and comfort as they struggle to figure out the true cause of Hanalee’s father’s death.

7. “The Cave,” Mumford and Sons


Hope is a necessary ingredient in all of my YA novels. I throw my characters into some of the most horrifying moments in American history, and they must be able to find their own inner strength and leave their protective “caves” of sorts in order to survive a world that’s failing them. Not only does “The Cave” have a folksy banjo sound that helped inspire my book’s setting, but when Marcus Mumford swears that he’ll hold onto hope, especially in the song’s passionate ending, I believe that anyone, including Hanalee, can do the same.

About Cat:
Cat Winters’s critically acclaimed debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, was named a 2014 Morris Award Finalist, a 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, a 2013 Bram Stoker Award Nominee, and a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013. Her upcoming novels include The Cure for Dreaming (Amulet Books/Oct. 2014) and The Uninvited (William Morrow/2015), and she’s a contributor to the 2015 YA horror anthology Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Visit her online at www.catwinters.com.
Photo by Tara Kelly

Find Cat Online:


Giveaway Details:


5 winners will receive a finished copy of THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:


Week One:
2/29/2016- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview
3/1/2016- The Forest of Words and Pages- Review
3/2/2016- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post
3/3/2016- A Dream Within A DreamReview
3/4/2016- Stories & SweetiesExcerpt

Week Two:
3/7/2016- Jessabella Reads- Review
3/8/2016- Bookish LifestyleGuest Post
3/9/2016- Katie's Book BlogReview
3/10/2016- The Fox's HideawayInterview
3/11/2016- MEREADALOTReview





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